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Saturday, October 16, 2010

The Braille Alphabet Bracelet Wins the 2010 People’s Design Award

October 15, 2010

The Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National
Design Museum presented its fifth People’s Design Award to the Braille
Alphabet Bracelet Thursday, Oct. 14, at its 11th annual National Design
Awards gala in New York. White House Deputy Social Secretary Ebs
Burnoughand fashion designer Cynthia Rowley announced the winning design
and presented the award to Leslie Ligon, designer of At First Sight
Braille Jewelry.

After thousands of votes were cast during the course of the People’s
Design Award competition, the Braille Alphabet Bracelet―a bracelet
featuring the entire alphabet in Braille on the front and print in the
back―emerged as the public’s favorite design.

Ligon, the mother of a blind son, created the line of functional
Braille jewelry to increase awareness of Braille literacy. According to
the American Foundation for the Blind, as few as 10 percent of people
who are legally blind learn to read and write Braille. Several studies
indicate that at least 90 percent of the blind that hold jobs are
Braille literate. Braille literacy enables the vision impaired to read
and write for themselves and is often seen as a gateway to independence.
A percentage of the company’s net profits are donated to Braille
literacy organizations, including National Braille Press and BrailleInk.
“I’m delighted that the public has chosen to honor the Braille
Alphabet Bracelet, which looks good, communicates without a glance and
feels great too!” said Bill Moggridge, director of the museum.
Marianne Cusato, designer of the Katrina Cottage, was selected as the
first People’s Design Award winner in 2006. Toms Shoes, a company that
gives away a pair of shoes to a child in need for every pair sold,
received the award in 2007, and the Zōn Hearing Aid took home the award
in 2008. In 2009, the winner was the Trek Lime Bicycle, a coasting bike
designed for the casual rider.

The National Design Awards are made possible in part by Bloomberg and Procter & Gamble.
Media sponsorship provided by Fast Company and New York magazine. National Design Week is made possible in part by the generous sponsorship of Target.

Professional partners for 2010 National Design Awards and National
Design Week include the AIGA | the professional association for design,
American Institute of Architects New York Chapter, American Society of
Landscape Architects and Industrial Designers Society of America New
York City.

About the People’s Design Award
Launched Sept. 20, the People’s Design Award website received more
than 100 nominations and thousands of votes. By logging on to www.cooperhewitt.org, users were able to browse and vote from the existing nominees or upload images to nominate a new object. Nominees included
a range of projects with a social mission such as the Neonurture: Car
Parts Incubator, Sustainable Health Enterprises (SHE), Hello Rewind
laptop sleeves and Open IDEO.

The People’s Design Award is part of Cooper-Hewitt’s largest
public education initiative, National Design Week, Oct. 9 – Oct. 17.
During National Design Week, the museum is offering free admission for
all visitors and hosting numerous free design programs. In recognition
of the importance of design education, organizations and schools
nationwide also will sponsor events during National Design Week. For a
complete schedule of National Design Week events, visit www.cooperhewitt.org.

Demmar, Thanks for writing. The Braille Alphabet Bracelet is for sale, and ON sale till Midnight tonight (November 30, 2010) for 25% off! Just click on the "Add to Cart" link above under the CELEBRATE WITH US! post. I took a look at the link in your post. If you are wanting to buy this for a guy, then I'd suggest the Brushed Silver Finish. My husband wears his almost every day!

Smithsonian, Cooper-Hewitt 2010 People's Choice Awards

The At First Sight Braille Alphabet Bracelet-the original braille alphabet bracelet- is the 5th Annual 2010 People's Design Award Winner!

Welcome to At First Sight, Braille Jewelry

You’ll find my latest offerings of thoughtfully designed Braille jewelry, as well as information about our family and why I do what I do. Order here, contact me by e-mail at atfirstsight@ligondesign.com.

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